What We Do

They deserve better.

Improving the lives of pets in BC.

Each year in BC, tens of thousands of pets are taken in by community-based rescue organizations and shelters. They are abandoned and surrendered for a number of reasons—families with a pet in distress often feel that they have nowhere to turn, individuals in crisis or fleeing violence are rarely able to take their pets with them, many people are unable to find pet-friendly housing.

In order to create meaningful and lasting change for pets, we must also recognize the needs of their people. Pets and their people are bonded; their lives are inextricably linked. For the vast majority of households, animals are considered members of the family. As such, we believe that animal welfare work must integrate with social services sector and support the people who share their lives with the pets we are helping.

You will see that belief in our approach to all of the work we do—in all of our programs and initiatives and partnerships. Paws for Hope is a non-profit with many moving parts, but they are all connected by a unifying mission and three key priorities.

Our Mission

Paws for Hope Animal Foundation strives to keep pets and people together, ensures BC pets survive and thrive, and supports positive change in animal welfare.

Our Priorities

Prevention

We focus on preventing unnecessary harm to animals through education, advocacy, outreach, and support for pets and their guardians.

Intervention

We go above and beyond to help people who are struggling to access veterinary care for their pets in order to reduce undue suffering.

Sustainability

We build strong partnerships, share best practices, and foster professionalism and accountability across BC’s animal welfare sector.

“We need to be professional, we need infrastructure, credibility, expertise, and sustainability. That is when change will happen.”

Kathy Powelson

How we do it

Keeping
pets with families

We Believe

that all pets deserve to be healthy, happy, and with the people who love them the most.

building trusted
relationships

with families

We Believe

that all bonded families should receive help and support in times of need, without judgement.

supporting a
one health mindset

We Believe

social services, crisis intervention, and financial support are essential to animal and human welfare.

harnessing the power of
working
together

We Believe

working in partnership with vets, social services, and other agencies will create a more sustainable, meaningful, and empowered animal welfare sector.

Our Programs

  • Veterinary Funding

    Better Together is a shelter intervention program that aims to keep pets with their people by providing basic veterinary care, training, and supplies.

    Learn More
  • Crisis Foster Care

    No Pet Left Behind is a crisis foster care program created to provide safe care for pets of individuals who are escaping violence.

    Learn More
  • Grant Funding

    The Guardian Angel program provides services and funding to support qualified volunteer-run animal welfare and rescue charities in BC.

    Learn More
  • Pet Stewardship

    Our Pet Stewardship program ensures that your companion animals will always be cared for, no matter what.

    Learn More
  • Community Cats

    The Animal Welfare Advisory Network of British Columbia empowers organizations to work together on specific projects and initiatives associated with companion animal welfare in BC.

    Learn More

Youth & Pets

New Study

McCreary Centre Society and Paws for Hope have released a new report looking at the relationship between youth and their pets.

Press release

COVID-19

Stepping Up

Rescue organizations across BC have been stepping up to help animals in need as shelters closed their doors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Blog post

Our Impact

Since we established in June 2011 we have successfully…

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